Is there a cheap way to start Kegging?

[StarCityBrewMaster]

Me and a buddy of mine have been brewing for a year now and try to stay pretty consistent with it, brewing about once a week or every other week. With that being said the bottling end of it is starting to get a little old and we are both starting to talk about kegging.

Without really knowing anything about it I was curious how much it would cost the two of us to get into it?

Also if there are any inexpensive ways to keep it cool?

I've got my first baby on the way and have to go the inexpensive route on the brewing supplies.

Thanks

 

[milesvdustin]

Yeah do a search for "keezer" and check out the sticky titled "sizing your chest freezer for corny kegs." And look at kegconnection.com they sell good kegging kits at good prices.

 

[ksbrain]

Figure $400 easy.

 

[lmnop]

Tap-A-Draft or Party Pig will get you from ~55 bottles for 5gal down to 3 bottles for 5gal. It's not *really* kegging, but it seems like a decent middle step. I don't have any personal experience with the TAD or the pigs, but it sounds like they might not be as air-tight as a keg or bottle, but I've read posts about people keeping them on hand for months with no problem.

My wife was really excited about us starting home brewing, but she said part of the deal was that we had to buy a kegging set up from go because she didn't want to have to clean and sanitize and fill all those bottles.

 

[Frankfurtvr4]

It depends how how elaborate you want to go. Figure 60-75 bucks for a five pound tank. 58 for a regulator from morebeer, 10 bucks worth of tubing, 3 or 4 bucks for the plastic spout, 12 bucks for quick connects and 30 for a keg you could get going with a system for around 180.

Chuck it in a trashcan full of ice and water and you are up and running. You are not going to enjoy that system very much but it keeps you from having to bottle.

 

[BlackHillsBrewing]

Ok "Cheap" being the keyword, go to your local Coca Cola Bottling dealership and see if you can buy syrup kegs, usually only 7-10 bucks, then purchase a 20 oz CO2 bottle, addapter and couple connectors through you beer in keg and off to local creek for some great fly fishing...!

Currenlty working on this portable Concept:

Korny Keg - $7.00 This is the price I got mine at... I bought like 14 each.
Barrel - $32.00
CO2 Fill Station - 38.00
20oz CO2 Bottle 15.00
CO2 Regulator 55.00
CO2 Adapter 15.00
Picnic Faucet 14.00

$174.00 takes you portable + Ice and a Fishing pole.

Couple other little things.. hoses etc.. connectors

 

[EFaden]

Ok "Cheap" being the keyword, go to your local Coca Cola Bottling dealership and see if you can buy syrup kegs, usually only 7-10 bucks, then purchase a 20 oz CO2 bottle, addapter and couple connectors through you beer in keg and off to local creek for some great fly fishing...!

Currenlty working on this portable Concept:

Korny Keg - $7.00 This is the price I got mine at... I bought like 14 each.
Barrel - $32.00
CO2 Fill Station - 38.00
20oz CO2 Bottle 15.00
CO2 Regulator 55.00
CO2 Adapter 15.00
Picnic Faucet 14.00

$174.00 takes you portable + Ice and a Fishing pole.

Couple other little things.. hoses etc.. connectors

The bottling places still have the kegs?

 

[tekknoschtev]

Depends on how you want to do it and how long you want to wait to get everything setup. My brother and I had a garage sale this past summer, and it wasn't until early November that we got everything all set up. We hunted around for a cheap, yet decent, refrigerator on Craigslist that whole time, and then spend $270 + shipping for a 4-keg kit (co2 tank, distributor, hoses, connections and 4 kegs). Since then I've received the parts necessary to put the taps through the door (~ $100, but it was a gift) and purchased 5 more kegs on the black friday sale ($100). So, all in, we have about $550, including the fridge, tied up into this beast.

Hmm... I never really totaled that up before. I guess it wasn't cheap, however I consider it a worthwhile investment for the hobby, and its definitely increased the frequency of our brewing, which I consider a good thing!

 

[scottland]

Everyone has the right info, but I'll organize it for you.

1. You need soda(corny) keg(s). You can get these from any number of places. Your local LHBS, online, cragislist, even your local pepsi distributer still might have some. Anything over $40 is a rip off. $15-20 is cheap, $30 about right for a keg that's been cleaned up. You're most likely going to want Ball-Lock kegs. Pin-locks are fine, but less common.

2. You need a C02 tank. 5# to 20# tanks are what most of us use. You can find these on craigslist for as little as $20, or as much as $60 for a new 5# tank.

3. You need a regulator for the C02 tank. The C02 in the tank is ~500-1000psi, and the regulator lets you adjust the outlet pressure from 0psi to around 50psi. I wouldn't pay over $40 for one new, obviously less used.

4. You need quick disconnects for you keg(s). You'll need one set per keg you want on tap. There is one to let gas into the keg, and one to let the liquid(beer) out. They run $5-8 each.

5. You need hoses to hook everything up, and you'll need a party(cobra) tap to dispense the beer. Party taps are like $4 each.

6. You need some way of keeping everything cool. If you search craigslist, you can often find people giving out their old refridgerators for free, or under $25. Most people can fit 2-3 kegs and the c02 tank in a fridge. You can also go the chest freezer route. You can find cheap chest freezers on craigslist that will fit 4 or more kegs. With a chest freezer, you'll need to ad $40-60 to the cost, as you'll need to buy a tempurature controller to make the freezer work at fridge temps(no one like frozen beer).

That's it for a simple kegerator. If you want more kegs on tap, you'll need more tubing, a C02 distributor to feed more than one keg from the regulator, more disconnects and more taps.

 

[olllllo]

Save money?
Get a CO2 tank and use cobra taps. Use the gas for pushing beer ONLY.
Keg condition everything.
Keep everything at room temp.
Drink it warm.


Chances you'll do this? 0